The Internet provides users with a mechanism for obtaining information regarding any suitable subject matter. For example, various web sites are dedicated to posting text, images, and video relating to world, national, and local news. A user with knowledge of a uniform resource locator (URL) associated with one of such web sites can simply enter the URL into a web browser to be provided with the web site and access content. Another conventional manner of locating desired information from the Internet is through utilization of a search engine. For instance, a user can enter a word or series of words into a search field and initiate a search (e.g., through depression of a button, one or more keystrokes, voice commands, etc.). The search engine then utilizes search algorithms to locate web sites related to the word or series of words entered by the user into the search field, and the user can then select one of the web sites returned by the search engine to review related content.
Oftentimes, users who are searching for information will see related advertisements and click on such advertisements to purchase products, thereby creating business for that particular retailer. Furthermore, the search engine is provided with additional revenue by selling advertisement space for a period of time to a retailer when a relevant term, such as, for example, the term “doggie,” is utilized as a search term. Thus, an individual who enters the term “doggie” into a search engine may be interested in purchasing items related to dogs—thus, it is beneficial for a company that sells pet items to advertise to that user at the point in time that the user is searching for a relevant term.
Because of the potential of a significant boost in revenue from advertising with search terms, it is very likely that a business will associate as many search terms and variations as possible to their advertisements. For example, an advertiser of pet items might submit a list of terms and variations for “doggie,” such as “dog,” “dogs,” and “doggy.” The intent of the advertiser is to select all terms and variations that would likely be used by users during a search. However, these lists of terms are often manually composed and frequently omit terms/variations that might increase sales for the advertiser. As an example, sometimes different spellings of words become popular that would not normally be included in the lists such as “dogz” or “doggee.” Automatically finding these terms and including them in associated advertising terms could substantially improve sales for the advertiser and revenue for a search engine provider.